DeAndre Carter (born April 10, 1993) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Sacramento State Hornets before signing with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2015. Carter has been a member of eleven NFL rosters in his career.

College career

Carter attended Sacramento State, where he played

and was named first-team

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

(FCS)

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in 2014 after recording 99 receptions for 1,321 yards and 17

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

Statistics

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Carter signed with the

on May 3, 2015. After a successful

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, he seemed to have a chance of making the final roster. However, after failing to win the return job during the first three weeks of preseason, he was released by the Ravens on August 31, 2015, as part of the first wave of roster cuts.

Oakland Raiders

Carter signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

on September 16, 2015, after the Raiders traded wide receiver Brice Butler to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. On December 1, 2015, he was released from the practice squad.

New England Patriots

On December 15, 2015, Carter was signed by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

to their practice squad. He was released on January 12, 2016, but was re-signed the next day. On January 26, 2016, Carter signed a futures contract with the Patriots. On September 3, 2016, Carter was released by the Patriots as part of final roster cuts.

San Francisco 49ers

On February 24, 2017, Carter signed a two-year contract with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the 49ers on January 2, 2018. On May 15, 2018, Carter was waived by the team.

Philadelphia Eagles

On July 28, 2018, Carter signed with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He made the Eagles' final roster. In the 2018 season opener against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he recorded a 10-yard reception, the first of his NFL career, in the 18–12 victory. Carter took over

kick A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of ...

and

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

duties with regular returner Darren Sproles sidelined with an injury. Carter was waived by the Eagles on September 18, 2018, after two games. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 20. He was promoted back to the active roster on September 29, 2018. Carter was waived by the Eagles on November 6, 2018.

Houston Texans

On November 7, 2018, Carter was claimed off waivers by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. On March 11, 2020, Carter was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Texans. On November 17, 2020, Carter was waived by the Texans.

Chicago Bears (first stint)

On November 18, 2020, Carter was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on December 10, and activated on December 22.

Washington Football Team

Carter signed with the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

on April 1, 2021. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 4 against the Falcons after he returned a kickoff 101 yards for his first career touchdown. Carter recorded his first career receiving touchdown in a Week 8 game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Los Angeles Chargers

Carter signed a one-year contract with the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

on April 8, 2022. In Week 1 against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

, Carter totaled 64 yards and a touchdown on 3 receptions in the 24–19 victory.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 30, 2023, Carter signed with the Raiders.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

On June 18, 2024, Carter signed a one-year contract to return with the

Cleveland Browns

On March 19, 2025, Carter signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Carter's younger brother, Kaylan, died in 2013 after going into cardiac arrest during a weight training session with his football team in high school. At Sacramento State, Carter majored in

communication studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

. Carter served as a substitute teacher at Martin Luther King Middle School in 2016.

References

External links

*
Cleveland Browns bio

Sacramento State Hornets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, DeAndre 1993 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen Living people American football return specialists American football wide receivers Baltimore Ravens players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Las Vegas Raiders players Los Angeles Chargers players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from San Jose, California Sacramento State Hornets football players San Francisco 49ers players Washington Football Team players